Fuzhou

Just came back from Fuzhou and created this page to be able to share with everyone the experience over there : )We visited this city during the month of November, and did not find any weather 'issues' during those fine days of the month.But we did encounter some small 'issues' - our bus had air-conditioning or ventilation problems when it was time to head back for
Xiamen
which 'spoiled' the trip a bit.

This review is based on personal experiences about the city, if you happen to feel that you need to correct something or give out a share of your own experiences,
'ping' me right here
and we'll try to cover your share in our
Travel Diary
page or somewhere appropriate in this site, well, of course, if it's appropriate content only ; ).OK, we're all set to review Fuzhou now, let's go!

How to Get Here

Bus Travel - if you're starting out your trips from within China, you could take those long-distance-bus rides and should be able to reach Fuzhou through the popular bus stations from your cities of origin. Please check with your travel agents, hotels or local bus stations.If you're setting out on a trip from Xiamen,
Quanzhou
,Putian or within the Fujian province itself, then you'll have more travel convenience as most bus terminals offer the trips, there.The bus ride from Xiamen to Fuzhou takes around 3 and a half hours.If you're coming from
Hong Kong
or from other popular Guangdong cities like Shenzhen or Guangzhou, you would be good-to-go, too.

Taxi / Private Vehicles - if you don't feel like traveling via public bus or you probably feel overwhelmed by the language or the jargons, you may have your own interpreters deal with your local cab or rent-a-car-or-private bus companies, and spend a 'fair' amount of money in your journeys. Please get that consultation from your travel agents or hotels, earlier.Tried asking the hotel bellboys? Believe me, you can get 'bunches' of travel info from the hotel bellboys more than your hotel front desks, you can try asking around now, but try it with care, as you may be offered help in exchange for a commission or tips!

Air Travel - most popular domestic airports within China have a big percentage of air travel routes.You could also fly over to the city from Hong Kong or Macau. (Please consult your travel agents, hotels and domestic airports for more info).

How to travel around Fuzhou

Modes of Transportation:

Bicycles

Taxi

Public bus

Tips traveling within the city:

If you're traveling around the city, most especially, walking or strolling around the city, please be aware that bicycles, motorcycles and other 'smaller' vehicles take the same shoulder as what pedestrians take, squeezing that traffic 'elbow-room' , tighter.For example, if you're taking the underpass - take the necessary precautions 'down under' - expect the unexpected - some motorcycles are speeding towards your right of way, in the underpass, and do not expect any lights or warning signals when you're in an underpass, if a motorcycle is not speeding towards you, a cyclist or a bike is probably ready to put its wheels right between your legs just beneathe your butt! And don't expect an apology for that, expect the unexpected :)

Other common street scenarios - during rainy days - cyclists fall-off their bicycles or bump into each other or bump to other pedestrians. I noticed that one of the most common reasons for this is that most of the cyclists wear leather shoes or high-heel shoes, considering they are 'wheeling' through the storm.

Always stay alert, especially when you're with your family/kids!. Sometimes, I personally feel that riding the public bus in Fuzhou is the safest way to go, rather than walking around or cycling in the city. At times, I feel I am safer back in the hotel, pounding on my laptop keyboards, and having a chat with the virtual worlds, instead of wandering around the city.

I really don't have anything against the city, I guess I was just so much 'hooked' about Xiamen. Anyway, I had some bit of fun in Fuzhou and I would still be coming back here to see you later : )

Travel Tools

map (optional) - available at any bookstore or from your hotels; maps sold on the streets are mostly in Chinese.

pocket dictionary (optional) - bring it if you can't speak some Mandarin, make it your "visual" translator by showing the Chinese character equivalent of what you want to "express" to the locals.